Studio Interior

In preparation for a series of studio interior paintings, I'm doing a bunch of pen, ink and wash drawings of the studio that I share with painter Thor Wickstrom.  This is the first one, a 12x9 drawing.  I've been inspired by the studio interiors of Ken Howard, and this studio may match his in terms of stuff, but there's no figure sitting in the middle.

A Short Stretch

An 18x24 oil on canvas painting depicting a short stretch of Dean Street in Brooklyn.

Portrait of the Artist

The new year starts with a portrait of the artist, staring into a mirror.  In his 1992 book, The Culture of Complaint, the art critic and curmudgeon Robert Hughes, now deceased, wrote that "...there are too many artists for the base to support.  There are probably 200,000 artists in America, and assuming that each one of them makes forty works a year that yields eight million objects, most of which don't have a ghost of a chance of survival." I've read that there may now be up to two million artists in America.  Being an artist today is surely a quixotic pursuit.  One can't really do it for fame and fortune.  On the other hand, to say that the most important aspect of making art is the experience is suspect, but it may be the only thing we can fall back on.  And if we dream of making art that has value for ourselves and others, the 'experience' is what will guide that dream.

Last One

The last small Brooklyn painting of the year, a view of Washington Avenue near Sterling Place.  May the coming year be fruitful, productive, healthy, creative, inspiring, and happy for everyone!

Anticipation

Back to work again after a brief break.  This 9x12 oil on canvas is the thirteenth in the current series of small Brooklyn paintings.  The setting is Underhill at Sterling Place where someone opened the back of the van in anticipation of loading a Christmas tree.

Sidewalk Tunnel

A 9x12 oil on canvas of a scene on Classon Avenue near Bergen Street.  These temporary tunnels covering sidewalks can be found all over Brooklyn, or probably any city.  In this nearly monochrome picture, my interest is the light and dark heightened by the sidewalk tunnel.

Up Is Down

A literal view of Conover Street in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.  The street is always wet at this spot because its where a bus company washes its busses.  I always look down as well as straight ahead and up (sometimes behind me too).  You never know when you will see the sky in the pavement.

Burned Out

A 9x12 oil on canvas of a burned out van on Park Place in Brooklyn.

The Beauty of Grungy

This view of Red Hook is at the corner of Dykeman and Ferris Streets.  There can be beauty in grungy industrial settings, especially if the light is right.  This is a 9x12 oil on canvas.

Sun Behind Me

Another Red Hook view,  down Van Dyke Street near the corner of Dwight Street.  The sun was behind me.

Bright Corner

This 9x12 oil on canvas painting looks a bit surreal, but it demonstrates what I like about Brooklyn.  I'm still in the Red Hook section, with the early morning sun, at the corner of Richards and Commerce, where one building has been painted red, and another partly bright yellow, possibly to cover up graffiti.  It's the unusual and bright colors that I like.  Did someone just grab whatever paint was lying around to do the job?  I left off the graffiti that has since reappeared over the yellow,  only because the painting was too detailed as it is.  That was the challenge of this painting, how to simplify a complicated street corner.

Into Red Hook

This past weekend I spent Sunday morning in Red Hook.  This 9x12 oil on canvas is a view of Richards Street near Seabring.  When painting these pictures, I'm trying to be as direct and quick as I can.  

Time Passing

This past weekend I had a productive visit to Brooklyn, and also attended a Drawing New York drawing session in Manhattan on Saturday managed by artist Simon Levenson.   These are two drawings from the session, one a two minute sketch, and the other a twenty minute drawing.  Whether it's two minutes or twenty,  the time passes so quickly.

Cars Are the People

Another Brooklyn 9x12 oil on canvas of the corner of Third and Union.  Cars are the people.

Retreating Shadows

This 9x12 oil on canvas depicts the sidewalk on Bergen Street approaching Sixth Avenue.  There's a police station at this location, which explains the way the cars are parked.  I was attracted to the retreating shadows culminating in a parked car.